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| Season | Pokémon the Series: XYZ (Season 19) · The Ninja Village & Ash-Greninja arc (XY099–XY100) |
| Episode | Season 19, episode 6 · English episode 894 · Japanese episode 899 · Bulbapedia code XY099 |
| English title | The Legend of the Ninja Hero! |
| Japanese title | ようこそ忍者村へ！英雄ゲッコウガの伝説！！ Yōkoso Ninja-mura e! Eiyū Gekkouga no Densetsu!! — “Welcome to the Ninja Village! The Legend of the Heroic Gekkouga!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 3 December 2015 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 March 2016 · Cartoon Network |
| Screenplay | Shinzō Fujita |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | XY&Z – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) · Puni-chan no Uta (Puni-chan’s Song) – Eureka (Mariya Ise) |
| English opening | Stand Tall – Ben Dixon and The Sad Truth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Venusaur (US) |
| Previous episode | Dream a Little Dream from Me! (XY098) |
| Next episode | A Festival of Decisions! (XY100) |
Plot episodeNinja Village, part 1Hanzo kidnapped
The Legend of the Ninja Hero! is the 6th episode of Pokémon the Series: XYZ, the nineteenth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 894th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 899, Bulbapedia code XY099). It first aired in Japan on 3 December 2015 and in the United States on 26 March 2016. It falls within the season’s The Ninja Village & Ash-Greninja stretch (EP99–EP100).
Synopsis
Sanpei invites the group to his hidden Ninja Village for its festival, where they learn of a legendary Greninja hero, before a renegade ninja named Kagetomo attacks the village and kidnaps its chief. In a cave, Kagetomo and his Ninja Corp, led by Heidayu, pledge to invade Chief Hanzo’s Ninja Village. Meanwhile Frogadier senses an attack during Ash’s training and blocks it: the assailants are Sanpei and his Greninja. Over lunch Sanpei explains that he is heading home for the next day’s festival and invites the group along, and Bonnie dresses up in a pink ninja outfit Serena made for her. A password opens a hidden stone door in a dead-end cave, revealing a passage to a village ringed by cliffs. Sanpei’s older brothers, Ippei and Nihei, praise his progress, and Chief Hanzo and his assistant Shinobu welcome the visitors; Bonnie asks Shinobu to look after Clemont, then withdraws the request when Shinobu reveals she is 100 years old.
Nihei tests his little brother in a battle. Sanpei’s Greninja uses Double Team, Water Shuriken and a sneaky Night Slash, but Nihei’s Venusaur hides within Petal Blizzard and wins with Solar Beam; Hanzo and Ippei agree Sanpei has improved. Kagetomo’s forces breach the village’s outer defences unnoticed. In Sanpei’s room, Frogadier spots a photo of Sanpei with his Froakie, and Sanpei says he will stay home to help his brothers, since Ippei will soon become chief. When Dedenne falls through a hidden trapdoor, everyone follows it down into an underground passage that leads to a monument honouring the village’s hero, a Greninja. Ippei explains that it once led the village’s Pokémon to defend it during a war between ninjas, and that he and Sanpei chose Froakie as their first partners in its honour; Bonnie notes that the Greninja in the picture looks different from others she has seen.
Team Rocket, spying on the village, plan to steal its Pokémon during a disturbance, but before they can act a fleet of Kagetomo’s Skarmory attacks. Ippei sends Sanpei to take Ash’s group to Hanzo while he and Nihei defend the village, but Kagetomo’s Ninja Corp reaches the chief first, blinds everyone with a smoke bomb and carries Hanzo off. Ash and Sanpei give chase, while Shinobu stops Serena from following and tells her they will find Ippei together instead. Above the battle, Team Rocket fire a capture device from their balloon, but a Skarmory knocks it off course and it binds Serena and Shinobu together. Ash and Sanpei race after the kidnappers, only to find their path blocked by Heidayu and his Bisharp, and the episode ends with the fate of the village and its chief still hanging in the balance.
Major Events
- The Ninja Village, part 1. Sanpei brings the group to his hidden village, whose legendary hero was a Greninja of unusual appearance
- Nihei’s Venusaur beats Sanpei’s Greninja
- Kagetomo’s Ninja Corp kidnap Chief Hanzo
- Ends on a cliffhanger
- Debuts of Ippei and Nihei in person, Hanzo, Shinobu, Kagetomo and Heidayu
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Shinzō Fujita.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kalos storyline.
Part of our Pokémon the Series: XYZ guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.